Demon Sword Maiden

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"Stop! What do you think you're doing? Let her go!" Ryuen cried out as she saw the walrus-headed demon grasp Lily's chains and begin dragging her toward the monstrous torture device.

Her body refused to move. Ryuen wanted to stop them, but her legs had gone numb. She couldn't even stand, let alone help. Glaring at the Celestial Maidens, her eyes burned with frustration and hatred.

"You're worse than demons!" Ryuen screamed. "You tricked us with that trial, just to hand us over like offerings! You're women too. How can you watch Sister Lily being dragged into that thing and do nothing? Save her! Please, save her!"

Riyuki and the other Celestial Maidens averted their eyes, visibly disturbed by the scene. But that discomfort was insignificant compared to the promises of divinity and power they had been offered.

Riyuki turned away from Lily and stared coldly at Ryuen. "So naive. Even if you reached Takamagahara, your illusions would shatter. Across all realms, the strong feed on the weak. Beauty without power is nothing but entertainment for those stronger. If you want to survive with dignity, then kill for the powerful or become powerful yourself. Even if that means stepping over others like her."

Her expression darkened. "If you ever reach the heavens, you'll either become like us or be destroyed. In that world, you either sacrifice others or get sacrificed. That is the truth."

"No… It can't be…" If what Riyuki said was true, then all of Ryuen's dreams, the pain she endured, and the battles she survived meant nothing. It was all a lie. "I was a fool… I believed in something that never existed."

"Lord Shikikai!" Ryuen raised her voice in desperation. "Let me take her place! Do what you want to me instead. I'm the most gifted girl of the Shizutake generation. I won't resist, just let Miss Lily go!"

Lord Shikikai chuckled. "Interesting. No, not you. It is that woman Lily who surprises me. She has a strange power, the kind that moves others. I never expected this kind of reaction from the tribute girls. You, little prodigy of the Shizutake Tribe, wish to take her place? Even with all your talent, you are still not enough."

His eyes pulsed with a sudden flare of power.

"Ah!" Ryuen cried out as the force overtook her. Her body collapsed, unable to bear it, her eyes dull and unfocused.

A tall, gaunt green demon licked his lips as he approached Ryuen. "My Lord, I like this one. Since your attention is on the veiled girl, may I have her?"

"No… Please… Let me take her place…" Ryuen whispered weakly.

"Do as you like," Shikikai said dismissively. "She thinks her purity has value. It means nothing to me. Take her." He turned away from Ryuen, his gaze settling on Lily, now secured to the torture device.

The long-tongued demon loomed over Ryuen, now paralyzed on the ground. He crouched over her, eyes locked on her body, his grotesque tongue snaking toward her legs.

In a flash, a petal-marked blade shimmered into existence and sliced the demon's tongue clean off.

The demon howled, stumbling backward in agony before collapsing. Both the demons and Celestial Maidens froze, stunned and alarmed by the sudden attack.

"Who's there?" Riyuki's eyes narrowed. But she could sense no new presence.

Only the Lord recognized the source of the sudden energy—it came from the Soul World.

"Heh… Lily, you are no ordinary woman," the Lord said, eyes narrowing with unease. "Why don't you take off that veil and show me what you really look like?"

"You want to know who I am?" Lily replied coldly. "Let's see if you're even worthy."

"You insolent woman! The Lord wants to see your face, and you dare defy him? I'll rip off that veil myself!" The walrus demon roared, his divine energy erupting violently. He yanked Lily's chains, dragging her toward him, his other hand reaching for her throat.

As she was pulled close, Lily suddenly unleashed a burst of power. With a sharp crack, the shackles that could restrain even a Big Dipper adept shattered like brittle glass. In a blink, she slipped past the demon's grip and leapt beside his head, preparing a devastating kick.

Her leg twisted mid-air and slammed down on the top of his skull instead, using the force to launch herself forward with blinding speed.

As the walrus demon toppled into the torture device, Lily shot forward like a red streak of lightning, aiming straight for the Lord atop his elevated throne. She had gone all out from the beginning. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of the Lord before he could even react.

Oborozuki Muramasa shimmered into her hand, its blade glowing with misty lunar energy. She drove it forward without hesitation, aiming straight for his vital point. This was a blow meant to kill.

In an instant of desperation, the Lord seized a nearby female attendant and thrust her in Lily's path to act as a shield.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise, but she adjusted her angle mid-strike. The blade slid through the narrow gap between the woman's waist and arm, just enough to reach the Lord's body.

The blade pierced his thick belly, a hide as tough as ancient monster leather. It missed the vital point but still cut deep.

The Lord had always relied on his thick skin and powerful body, and at first, he was unfazed. But then, a stream of silver lunar energy slipped through the wound and began tearing him apart from within. The pain was immediate and excruciating.

"You filthy brat!" the Lord roared in fury. He crushed the servant he had used as a shield into pulp and hurled his bloody palm toward Lily. The strike came fast and heavy.

Both of the eyes on his stomach unleashed a dazzling burst of purple light, pulsing with mind-affecting power.

Lily's will was strong enough to resist the spell, but the proximity made it harder to ignore. She couldn't dodge the strike in time and had no choice but to raise her scabbard and block.

The impact sent her flying backward like a comet.

Her strongest defensive artifact, the Sakura Parasol, was with Nanako back in Hekiraku City. She had no means to fully shield herself. She hit the cavern wall hard, her body nothing more than a streak of light.

The wall behind her crumbled from the impact, blasting open a gaping hole. Stone pillars and statues collapsed, and several unfortunate demons and captives were crushed in the chaos that followed.

"No!" Ryuen shouted. She had escaped disgrace, but Lily had taken the full force of a devastating blow. Her instincts told her that even a powerful Celestial far beyond her level might have been killed by that single strike.

"What power…" Riyuki muttered, astonished. The Lord's raw strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Supreme God in Takamagahara. Perhaps only Ame-no-Tajikarao stood above him in that regard.

Even without using his notorious abilities in interrogation and control, Lord Shikikai was a force to be reckoned with. His physical strength alone was terrifying. Lily's body had gone numb from the impact of the strike.

'Something's wrong. I've stirred up this much chaos, so why hasn't Sister Shimizu responded?' Lily released her spiritual energy, extending her Soul World to search for Shimizu, but she found nothing.

She considered the possibilities. Perhaps Shimizu was beyond her detection range, or hidden behind a powerful defensive spell or artifact. The last thought was the hardest to accept: that Shimizu might be deliberately avoiding detection.

A sharp beam of glowing lunar blade energy burst out from the hole in the wall and shot straight toward the Lord.

The Lord rose from his throne, gripping his treasured weapons: a thick, iron-black bangle and a long whip etched with the pattern of a coiled, nine-tailed black serpent. These items radiated power far beyond that of ordinary spirit artifacts. They pulsed with overwhelming energy.

He raised the bangle in his massive hand and swung it downward, slamming it against the incoming blade energy. A thunderous shockwave shook the entire mountain as the two forces collided.

The weighty iron bangle managed to deflect the incoming attack.

Though he had blocked the strike, his arm tingled from the impact, and the bangle continued to tremble in his grip. He looked at the persistent blood leaking from his earlier wound. "What cursed energy is this? I'm still bleeding, and it won't stop. What kind of strength does that woman possess?"

"Lunar energy…?" Riyuki's eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn't seen the exact moment the blade struck, but she could feel the remnants of its energy in the air.

"That energy—it's the legendary lunar force, the one all Celestial Battle Maidens revere. The power that once brought down gods and demons alike, lost for generations. Who in the world is this Lily?"

"Lily… that name," Riyuki whispered to herself. A memory stirred, and her expression sharpened. "No. It can't be…"

Lily wasn't surprised that her first strike had been deflected. She launched herself out of the cavern hole, wielding Oborozuki Muramasa. Countless smaller blades of energy scattered from her swings like falling snow, each aimed at the Lord.

Killing him with a single surprise blow was impossible. His defenses and treasures were too powerful. Instead, she would wear him down, little by little.

Even with the iron bangle and whip, he couldn't stop every strike. Thin cuts opened across his thick flesh. None were fatal, but they kept bleeding and slowly drained his divine power.

"You wretches!" the Lord bellowed. "You sent such a dangerous woman into my cave! If she isn't working with you Celestial Maidens, then she came here to assassinate me. Who in the world is she?"

He unleashed another wave of purple light from the eyes on his stomach. The continuous bursts slowly chipped at Lily's focus. Her breathing grew heavier. Even if the effect was minor, any distraction could alter the outcome in a clash between two supreme beings.

With a mighty swing, the Lord lashed his serpent-patterned whip toward her. It split into nine streaks of unnatural energy, each one unfamiliar and threatening in a way Lily had never encountered before.